Halloween is an impeccably AMAZING film and one of the best movies ever made. I’m not even just speaking as a fan boy but as a movie fan and I think that not only is it an incredible horror film but is also an ESSENTIAL piece of cinema in the history of film.
So why do I make that claim? It’s because this film is not just the progenitor of the slasher movie genre (although not the official first slasher that honor would either go to Psycho or Peeping Tom). It’s also one of the best directed movies of all time as well as being a zero to hero story of a director who made an independent low budget film which launched an entire sub genre.
So what made this slasher movie so revolutionary? Multiple reasons I feel, firstly it established “the rules” of most horror/slasher films to come including “drugs equal death”, “only the virgin or most conservative (usually female) character survives” and more. John Carpenter also proves his exceptional skill as a director creating perfect tension by transforming the drab normalcy of typical suburbia into a terrifying nightmare neighborhood from hell.
The music and score is also brilliant also by John Carpenter and truly helps to establish an abysmal and intense atmosphere. Finally the characters of Michael Meyers are brilliantly written in their simplicity as they’re both the dark and light halves of their universe and while they’re both technically under developed but seem to work.
So all in all as I’ve said Halloween is not just one of my personal favorite films but also essential modern cinema so I can’t recommend this film high enough.
